SQ damaged my laptop, is this offer fair?
Jul 21, 2008, 5:56 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,093
Thanks to all those who have provided their perspectives, they are valuable and helpful. I have replied to SQ's e-mail, asking for an explanation on the arbirtray amount since there was no justification provided and I am curious.
Here is the copy of the SQ e-mail, I have removed the personal information for your information here. I think it is informative to show the letter since this can be used as a reference for others in the future.
You have given me some pretty good reasons to accept the SQ offer as it is. I will wait till SQ replies to my question before making a decision. As for some suggestions of "running" with the money offered - there is absolutely no need to run. In any case, it seems to me it's SQ who is concerned that I won't be accepting their offer as it is, not the other way around, since they pre-printed my name with clear timeline on the form they sent me by Adobe.
I will let you know what SQ's explanation is as this may be helpful should your electronics be damaged while flying SQ in the future, whether in your carry on or in checked luggage. Note, I am not sure if this necessarily applies to all passengers since I am sure SQ takes into account a number of personal factors and of course, the circumstances and your actions. For instance, the claim form which I sent in asked me to provide my PPS Club #. In theory, a luggage claim should make no difference between a non-member and an elite member but obviously, it is not. Or if you report the incident like 2 weeks later as opposed to immediately, this too could affect your claim.
Again, thanks to all those who commented on the topic of this thread.
Here is the copy of the SQ e-mail, I have removed the personal information for your information here. I think it is informative to show the letter since this can be used as a reference for others in the future.
Originally Posted by Singapore Airlines
Dear Mr Guava,
DAMAGED ITEM
Route: XXX/XXX SQXXX/Date
PIR REF : XXXXXXXXXX
Thank you for sending in your Baggage Claim Form dated XX XX 2008 enclosing the repair cost for the damaged item.
We are sorry to hear that the your laptop was damaged when you traveled on the above flight. We would like to assure you that this is not a situation, which happens frequently, and we do make every effort to ensure that passengers receive their baggage on arrival and in good order. We are sorry that even with our best intentions and efforts, we were, in this instance, not able to provide you with the service standard we try to maintain.
Mr Guava, while we do empathize with your situation, informatively, there is a limit that an airline can compensate for any loss or damage of baggage/property. As a basis of settlement, most international carriers adhere to limits and exclusions in liabilities, as stipulated in our General Conditions of Carriage. Airlines are also not liable for loss/damage of computer and its accessories, as airlines have little knowledge and control over the type and value of items kept in passengers’ checked-in baggage. Thus, passengers are often advised to purchase private travel insurance to further indemnify them against the loss or damage of these items when they travel.
Notwithstanding the above, in view of your kind support for our Airline, we are pleased to offer you USD434 being final settlement of your claim. Please complete and return the enclosed Release & Indemnity Form within 30 days. We shall, on receipt of the form, raise a cheque in your favour for USD434 and send to you within 21 days. To expedite the matter, you may fax the signed form to us at (65) XXXX XXXX.
Once again, we do apologise for this unfortunate incident and hope that we will have the opportunity to serve you better in future.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXX XXXXXXX
DAMAGED ITEM
Route: XXX/XXX SQXXX/Date
PIR REF : XXXXXXXXXX
Thank you for sending in your Baggage Claim Form dated XX XX 2008 enclosing the repair cost for the damaged item.
We are sorry to hear that the your laptop was damaged when you traveled on the above flight. We would like to assure you that this is not a situation, which happens frequently, and we do make every effort to ensure that passengers receive their baggage on arrival and in good order. We are sorry that even with our best intentions and efforts, we were, in this instance, not able to provide you with the service standard we try to maintain.
Mr Guava, while we do empathize with your situation, informatively, there is a limit that an airline can compensate for any loss or damage of baggage/property. As a basis of settlement, most international carriers adhere to limits and exclusions in liabilities, as stipulated in our General Conditions of Carriage. Airlines are also not liable for loss/damage of computer and its accessories, as airlines have little knowledge and control over the type and value of items kept in passengers’ checked-in baggage. Thus, passengers are often advised to purchase private travel insurance to further indemnify them against the loss or damage of these items when they travel.
Notwithstanding the above, in view of your kind support for our Airline, we are pleased to offer you USD434 being final settlement of your claim. Please complete and return the enclosed Release & Indemnity Form within 30 days. We shall, on receipt of the form, raise a cheque in your favour for USD434 and send to you within 21 days. To expedite the matter, you may fax the signed form to us at (65) XXXX XXXX.
Once again, we do apologise for this unfortunate incident and hope that we will have the opportunity to serve you better in future.
Yours sincerely,
XXXXXX XXXXXXX
You have given me some pretty good reasons to accept the SQ offer as it is. I will wait till SQ replies to my question before making a decision. As for some suggestions of "running" with the money offered - there is absolutely no need to run. In any case, it seems to me it's SQ who is concerned that I won't be accepting their offer as it is, not the other way around, since they pre-printed my name with clear timeline on the form they sent me by Adobe.
I will let you know what SQ's explanation is as this may be helpful should your electronics be damaged while flying SQ in the future, whether in your carry on or in checked luggage. Note, I am not sure if this necessarily applies to all passengers since I am sure SQ takes into account a number of personal factors and of course, the circumstances and your actions. For instance, the claim form which I sent in asked me to provide my PPS Club #. In theory, a luggage claim should make no difference between a non-member and an elite member but obviously, it is not. Or if you report the incident like 2 weeks later as opposed to immediately, this too could affect your claim.
Again, thanks to all those who commented on the topic of this thread.
Jul 21, 2008, 8:47 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: DFW
Programs: UA MM, QF Plat, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 2,563
One other piece of advice I would offer is simply double check with a local repair shop or buy the LCD on eBay and pay to have it installed. If you send me a Pm with your laptop model I can find some ideas on what the screen should cost on eBay, but it is rare to pay more than $200 for a proper repair part and for some dells the screen can cost substantially less. For example, a new screen for my Dell Latitude D630 is $160 plus shipping and paying a local repair shop for installation should be an hour of labor, so maybe $75 if you don't want to do it yourself. I used to repair laptops back in college and it's often easy to do the job in less than 30 minutes. Pay for the repair from some local shop and you'll probablt come out $100 ahead.
Jul 22, 2008, 11:31 am
#18
Moderator: GLBT travelers, India-based Airlines and India; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Asia
Programs: Yes!
Posts: 15,512
Totally random (and prob incorrect!) thought, but perhaps they interpreted your claim amount of $600 odd as SIN$ and not US$, and automatically converted it to US$ 434 before sending you the cheque....
Jul 24, 2008, 3:00 am
#19
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Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,093
Well, I got a response from SQ via e-mail, actually two e-mails in one day. For some reasons, SQ comes across somewhat nervous. 
Don't ask me why, I have no clue. Anyway, long story short, SQ agreed to reimburse for the full amount, $620 USD. I don't expect it to be this easy, all I said in my e-mail was this single sentence:
"Can you please explain why you are unable to reimburse for the full repair bill charged by the store for just over $600 USD?"
Then I signed my name. That was it. The contact person at SQ apologized yet again (seriously, there is no need to apolgoize 10 times for the same thing and frankly, even though I didn't intent to put the laptop in there, clearly, I share some responsbility for that stupid mistake) and then offered to reimburse the full bill. I never said I was unhappy about what they first offered. How they read that I was "unsatisfied" is beyond me. I was happy enough with how they handled it in SIN and their very prompt response to my letter, I really couldn't fault them anything aside by their obvious attempt to haggle over a small amount of money.
Trust me, I learned a lesson with this incident and I will make sure I don't put a laptop in the checked luggage ever again. It was really inconvenient to have an inoperable laptop on an overseas trip even when you have two, that thought alone is a good enough deterrent.
I hope when you read this thread, you have learned a lesson along with me. Even if you already know, it's like watching those in-flight safety video/demo again, it doesn't hurt. Now, I feel it's important to point out the disclaimer that SQ clearly states in their writing and I am going to quote it here:
"We have again reviewed and escalated your case to the higher authority since you are not satisfied with the offer. After a thorough review of your claim and considering everything, we are prepared to raise our offer to USD619.59 being full and final settlement to mitigate your loss. We would like to stress, however, that this is a goodwill gesture accorded to you under exceptional circumstances. We regret that we will be unable to accede to similar claim in future."
SQ insists on calling it a goodwill measure as opposed to repair & reimbursment. Obviously, they are covering their a$$ against similar claims in the future. I don't have a problem with that. Notwithstanding of course, there are at least 2 people in this thread who reported that SQ did reimburse for the repair. So what's SQ's official stand on this? I still don't know. They clearly go by the same rules as every other airlines, that is they can't be responsible for damaged electronics in checked luggages. But why they still do it? It's anybody's guess. I like to think SQ is a quality airline who goes out its way to treat customers well and I think they have demonstrated that.
Don't ask me why, I have no clue. Anyway, long story short, SQ agreed to reimburse for the full amount, $620 USD. I don't expect it to be this easy, all I said in my e-mail was this single sentence:"Can you please explain why you are unable to reimburse for the full repair bill charged by the store for just over $600 USD?"
Then I signed my name. That was it. The contact person at SQ apologized yet again (seriously, there is no need to apolgoize 10 times for the same thing and frankly, even though I didn't intent to put the laptop in there, clearly, I share some responsbility for that stupid mistake) and then offered to reimburse the full bill. I never said I was unhappy about what they first offered. How they read that I was "unsatisfied" is beyond me. I was happy enough with how they handled it in SIN and their very prompt response to my letter, I really couldn't fault them anything aside by their obvious attempt to haggle over a small amount of money.
Trust me, I learned a lesson with this incident and I will make sure I don't put a laptop in the checked luggage ever again. It was really inconvenient to have an inoperable laptop on an overseas trip even when you have two, that thought alone is a good enough deterrent.
I hope when you read this thread, you have learned a lesson along with me. Even if you already know, it's like watching those in-flight safety video/demo again, it doesn't hurt. Now, I feel it's important to point out the disclaimer that SQ clearly states in their writing and I am going to quote it here:
"We have again reviewed and escalated your case to the higher authority since you are not satisfied with the offer. After a thorough review of your claim and considering everything, we are prepared to raise our offer to USD619.59 being full and final settlement to mitigate your loss. We would like to stress, however, that this is a goodwill gesture accorded to you under exceptional circumstances. We regret that we will be unable to accede to similar claim in future."
SQ insists on calling it a goodwill measure as opposed to repair & reimbursment. Obviously, they are covering their a$$ against similar claims in the future. I don't have a problem with that. Notwithstanding of course, there are at least 2 people in this thread who reported that SQ did reimburse for the repair. So what's SQ's official stand on this? I still don't know. They clearly go by the same rules as every other airlines, that is they can't be responsible for damaged electronics in checked luggages. But why they still do it? It's anybody's guess. I like to think SQ is a quality airline who goes out its way to treat customers well and I think they have demonstrated that.
Jul 25, 2008, 2:08 am
#20
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 13
I think it's not enough. Every SQ employee worldwide should have to give blood to make up for destroying your fragile possessions. Next time, why not test something like a Stradavarious Violin in a checked duffle bag, and see if that makes it too.
Jul 25, 2008, 2:16 am
#21
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
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Posts: 9,689
Cheers,